Last Weekend of Summer 2013...

...while you all are out enjoying your last weekend of summer, I'm stuck at work. I tried to make the most of OUR last weekend...last weekend. It started on Friday night. After dinner, we went out front to play with AR's water table. Our neighbor brought us over a cucumber. AR immediately decided to indulge. True picture of summer, dirt on the face running around in a diaper.

Saturday morning we got up and headed out to the soccer fields to check on things but first, AR ate some corn for breakfast.

After catching a soccer game, which AR loved but was bummed she couldn't play, we headed to the pool. She's now jumping off the edge in to me and she floated in my arms for the LONGEST time ever. We took a break for grapes which I have learned this week is a staple in our house and if there are no grapes, a meltdown will occur.

AR climbed up on the frog while enjoying her grapes.

When the grapes were gone, we headed back to the pool and spray pad. After we swam, we stopped at Snobiz and tried the Blue Smurf snocone-yummy!

Sunday we headed to the Cardinals game...and ate ice.

She had a good time once it cooled off.

#lovemyAR

..

It was a nice, relaxing fun way to spend our last weekend of summer. Now on to figure out what to be for Halloween...

AR's First (Hot!) Cardinal's Game!!!

...on Sunday, we took AR to her first ever Cardinals' Game!!! Of course, I think it was the hottest day of the year but she can now say she went to her first game.

 

We got there early and the first stop...Papa's brick! We had to take the infamous brick picture that we've all taken so many times before. Now AR has her first brick picture done and I'm sure she'll have many more.

It was Fred Bird's birthday! The first 12,000 kids got a stuff Build-A-Bear Fred Bird...with a paid ticket. Since AR is one, she technically didn't need a ticket but she did to get a Fred Bird. Luckily, my dad's friends had an extra ticket but we had to wait for them to get there. We let her see all the statues out front while we waited.

Family pic with Mr. Musial!

Peekaboo!

We sat in section 158 behind the visitor's dugout. We went down to the dugout to get a picture of her in her Hill Girls Designs Cardinals shirt.

Now, while the pictures are cute, let me be honest. Luckily, I knew we played the Braves. Other than that, I couldn't tell you anything else. I only got to say our family phrase of "Aces wild" or "deuces wild" once! Going to a game with a 15 month old is a lot of work and it was HOT, like hot, Hot, HOT!!! As soon as we got there, we pulled out her sippy cup and Cheerios which entertained her for awhile.

We snagged a family pic inside the stadium.

We even met up with her bestie, Emma! I love the Arch in the background.

Did I mention it was hot? She flew through the water in the sippy cup fast and moved on to my water bottle. Oh and she entertained herself by dropping Cheerios into the water bottle.

Papa bought her a hot dog which she inhaled.

My dad brought a fan that sprayed water and AR played with that for awhile...and then we were 1.5 innings in and she was hot...as in miserably hot! I told Matt that this was probably the HOTTEST she's ever been. So Mommy and AR went on a 3 inning walk around the stadium.

Unfortunately, we never ran into Fred Bird to tell him happy birthday but around the 5th inning we found where they were giving out free cups of ice! We took a few back to our seat and after that, she was happy as can be munching on ice and Daddy pouring the melted water on her head. Here she is lounging in his arms and she looks like she's gone swimming.

Then around the 6th-7th inning, the shade made it to our seats and AR was like a whole new, happy, un-hot child.

Most of the people had cleared out by the 9th inning so AR was free to roam. We let her sit in her own seat and she was hamming it up for some girls a few rows behind us.

Things I learned from this game:

1. I would much rather go to a spring or fall game and freeze my hiney off than go and sweat all day.

2. Taking a 15 month old to a game is hard work. I feel like I should have lost 10 pounds between chasing and carrying her and sweating all day.

3. I love Cards atmosphere! I can't wait to go again...but AR, you might stay home with Nana or Grandma next time or it'll need to be about 15-20 degrees cooler. :-)

Thanks for taking us Papa! We had a hot, fun time and hopefully, next time we bring home a winner!

On Having Another...

…a few mom friends out there that had babies around the time AR was born are announcing they are prego again which is totally exciting for them but it brings on a flood of feelings for me. I feel like I conquered infertility when I had AR but when people ask about a second or other people talk about having other kids, all those feelings of helplessness and no control associated with infertility returns.

I go back and forth on having a second. I mean, we’ve always said we wanted 2 kids but that was before we had to do IVF. I know there is no chance we’d ever get pregnant naturally…if we do, hell would freeze over so there’s your warning. So if we wanted to have a second kid, that means we’d either have to adopt or do IVF again.  

We’ve never really considered adoption. It just wasn’t an avenue we looked into it. I think the scariest thing about adoption is how much you’re judged and “graded” with the home visits, interviews, etc…I understand the importance of it and why they do it but my biggest fear would be that our house isn’t nice enough, our jobs aren’t good enough or being told we aren’t good parents. A part of me feels like we have all this love to give so we should open our home to another child but then those fears kick in and I internally freak out. 

As for going through fertility treatments again, ugh…I’m torn. If we had any embryos left, it would be a no brainer but we don’t which means we’d have to start fresh…stimulation, egg retrieval, transfer, wait, wait, wait…all of which requires money, patience and being in good health which I’m so far from right now that it’s not even funny. I just can’t imagine going through all that and keeping up with AR at the same time plus staying sane.
 

It makes me sad to watch other couples who can make this decision so easily and getting pregnant is no problem. I go back and forth on whether we want to try again. I tell myself if I don’t get my hopes up then I can’t get upset and go through all the frustration that comes with fertility treatments. The maternal part of my brain reasons that it’s okay to have an only child so that we can give all our love and attention to AR…as if the girl isn’t spoiled enough! Bottom line, it’s a HUGE decision to have a second child and while, yes, I’m getting older, there’s no reason to rush the decision. So for now, I’m going to enjoy my sweet AR and celebrate the moms out there brave enough to have 2 under 2!

PS-Sorry about the font size; Blogger was flippin' out on me!

Family Fun Day at the Farm...

...last Sunday, we slept in (6:30AM!), played a little in the living room then headed out to the farm. It's been almost 3 years since I've been to the farm. Last time I was there was opening deer hunting weekend 2010!

 

Here's AR sitting ON her shopping cart saying, "let's go!"

AR took a nap on the way out there so when we arrived, she was hungry. Daddy took her to the garden and she feasted on raspberries off the vine.

Her Aunt EB found a toad. AR petted it and even held it for a split second but once it moved, she quickly dropped it.

We took Emma and Shadow. They loved playing in the pond, hated the gunshots and AR loved all over both of them. It was a full on, every gets dirty kind of day.

AR and I rode in the back of Daddy's truck with Aunt EB as we drove the short distance to the pond...she loved it!

Here's Aunt EB with us.

AR was yelling at her Daddy to catch a fish. I told her we had to be quiet while fishing. We walked around while he fished and there's a big downhill behind the pond. AR was being Miss Independent again and had to walk by herself, therefore, she fell and rolled down the hill which she thought was HILARIOUS! Seriously, the girl laughed forever and then tried to do it again. She's so silly!

Then Daddy caught a fish and she went to inspect. The first thing she wanted to touch was his eye. Funny that she knows a fish eye and we'd say, "where's the fishie's eye?" and she'd point to it but you ask her where her eye is and she touches her ear. FYI-I had Purell in my pocket that we applied all day long. Luckily, she's good at holding her hand out and rubbing her hands together.

Then Daddy and Aunt EB told her to kiss the fish and she did!

Daddy took a break from fishing and sat on this little john boat. I wanted to get a picture of the two of them together but AR didn't want to be held by Daddy, no, she wanted to lean on the boat like him instead.

When we got back to the house, AR had to hydrate so she took an entire bottle of water and drank almost the whole thing herself. She split some and tried to get the doggies to take a drink from it too.

Then before we left, Daddy took her for a ride on the John Deere. Here she is smiling and waving but I caught her in mid-wave.

It started off a cool day then heated up around lunch time but we still had a good time. My baby girl touched a toad and kissed a frog, she's so much braver than her Mommy!

Police Department Open House...

...another Saturday and it was another adventure for AR and Emma! This time we hit up the local police department open house. I wish I would've brought the stroller but I figured AR would enjoy walking around but wouldn't you know, she wanted to be carried. They had all the local police "tasks" there like the bomb squad, SWAT, etc...some (most) of it was over AR's head but she still had a good time.

 

The bomb squad was letting kids use the remote control for the video thing (???) they send in before people. We didn't see the kids, just the thing moving around and AR was trying to pick it up. The kid moving the controls kept saying, "The baby is trying to get it!"

 

We got there right when the helicopter took off and AR was breaking her neck watching it fly above us. Then the police dogs did a demonstration and, of course, my child was trying to get out there with him.

 

They had free train rides which AR was a big fan of, not that I could get any good pictures since I was holding her while we were riding.

 

Side note: My child is Miss Independent. I have to sneakily hold on to her or else she'll push my hands away. I think it's safe to say I have a little dare devil on my hands. Also, I tend to try to let her be independent by letting her walk around on her own while I keep an eye on her but then I feel like people are looking at her thinking, "Where the heck is the parent?" Oh and AR decided to walk up to a picnic table and eat lunch with some family and the grandma picked her up like no big deal and AR didn't mind either (luckily, they didn't feed her). I was talking to the Grandma the whole time and we informed AR that she failed the stranger danger test. What can I say, she's also Miss Social.

 

Anyways, here's AR on the train:

Here's Jenni and Emma on the train ride. Emma was tired. I held her and she loved on me like this too. Nothing's sweeter than cuddles with these two little girls.

They had a petting zoo which I'm always leery of but I'm getting more laidback with germs. AR was OBSESSED with this camel. She'd pet him and then go back and pet him so more.

Seriously, she wouldn't leave him alone!

Then we went over and visited with the police dogs. We got "trading cards" for both of them. When we walked up to this dog, some lady was asking 500 questions and AR was trying to go straight to the dog. I kept telling her we had to wait and ask before we pet other people's dogs. FINALLY, the lady was like, "Ok, I won't take up any more time asking questions." My only question: "Can my daughter pet the dog?" All was great but then I panicked a bit when she tried to take his toy and I decided we should move on to the next dog.

After the Open House, we went out for snocones! I'd been craving one ever since the last time we went. Unfortunately, I was let down. :-( I always get in such a rush to order and then once I have mine and hear everyone else's orders, I'm like, oh I should have ordered that! Here's the besties waiting for their snocones. FYI-AR loved it despite all the vanilla flavoring. :-)

I keep thinking to myself, what will we do on the weekends once it gets cold out? Oh well, until then we'll just keep enjoying our weekends outside!

Daddy & AR's Yard Work...

...the Sunday after we got home from OBX, Daddy started a project in the yard. Little Miss AR was excited to help!

First, they had to scoop all the grass off the lawn.

Then Daddy showed her how to shovel the dirt out of the way.

AR caught on fast and got the hang of it pretty easily; she'd had a lot of practice with this at the beach.

My new favorite picture! This is Matt's shovel which he's carved his name into and is the main focus in this pic. Matt's pretty in love with this picture too.

All that work made AR one thirsty girl!

Last OBX Post...I Promise!!!

...this is a mish mash post of mainly cell phone pics I forgot about! One day we were there, I made an Oreo Bomb (thanks Pinterest!). It tasted a lot like Dirt Cake. AR wanted to help bake. Don't worry, we didn't show anyone these pics until AFTER they ate a piece.

 

Here's AR dipping an Oreo in the Cool Whip

 What good cook doesn't taste test?

On Thursday, we decided we needed to use up all the food we'd bought. While my sis and I were busy making cookies and brownies, AR reached over and started chomping away on a tomato. She ate almost the whole entire thing!

There's a fabulous donut place called Duck Donuts. My sis went one morning to get them and the wait was an hour! We called our order in for the next day and didn't have to wait in line. Here's AR feeding H a donut.

This is what I mean when she'd stroll off to the water

Boy did she get made whenever I'd hold her hand in the ocean. She wanted to be Miss Independent!

It didn't matter, she loved the water no matter how high it got on her or how cold it was.

Here's AR digging and H shelling early on the beach one morning

AR was hamming it up when I was taking pics at the lighthouse

Then she'd randomly attack me while I was laying down taking pictures! Silly AR!

So we had to stop at Wal-Mart and buy an extra suitcase on the way back because we'd bought so many souvenirs and found so many shells. We were almost the only ones there. Here's AR pulling the suitcase to the register.

We had a lot of time between flights. My sis likes to think AR was practicing pole dancing i this picture...her daddy didn't think it was funny. 

It was a long trip but it was definitely nice to get away and just chill. It was awesome to see AR experience even more firsts for her. Thanks Papa for taking us and thanks Sha for all the planning! Until next time...